Mrs. Goodfellow: The Story of America's First Cooking School

by Becky Libourel Diamond

Recovering the Life and Influence of the “Mother of American Cooking,” the Woman Who Changed the Way We Learn How to Prepare Meals In Philadelphia during the first decades of the nineteenth century, a widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Goodfellow, ran a popular bakery and sweet shop. In addition to catering to Philadelphia’s wealthy families and a reputation of having the finest desserts and sweet dishes in the young country, her business stood out from every other establishment in another she ran a small school to learn the art of cooking, the first of its kind in America. Despite her fame—references to her cooking as a benchmark abound in the literature of the period—we know very little about who she was. Since she did not keep a journal and never published any of her recipes, we have to rely on her students, most notably Eliza Leslie, who fortunately recorded many of Goodfellow’s creations and techniques. Goodfellow is known to have made the first lemon meringue pie and for popularizing regional foods, such as Indian (corn) meal. Her students also recall that Mrs. Goodfellow stressed using simple wholesome ingredients that were locally grown, presaging modern culinary fashion. By assembling the many parts of this puzzle from old recipe books, advertisements, letters, diaries, genealogical records, and other primary sources, researcher and writer Becky Diamond has been able to provide a more complete portrait of this influential figure in cooking history. Mrs. The Story of America’s First Cooking School begins with what we know about Elizabeth Goodfellow—where she was born, her husbands, her children, where her shop was located. We then travel back in time to discover the kinds of foods that would have been available to Goodfellow and how she may have used them. The book next turns to the rise of both commercial eating establishements and books of recipes. From here, the author explains the rapid expansion of cooking schools, such as the New York Cooking Academy and the Boston Cooking School, made famous through its association with Fannie Farmer, and ends with a discussion of the role of celebrity chefs. Thoroughly researched and including a range of authentic recipes, Mrs. Goodfellow is a delicious exploration of the life and legacy of one of America’s most influential cooks.

Genres: Nonfiction, Cooking

288 pages, Paperback

First published May 14, 2012

About the author

A food writer, librarian and historian, Becky Libourel Diamond has had a varied career combining writing and research. Her latest book, The Gilded Age Christmas Cookbook: Cookies and Treats from America’s Golden Era, launched in September 2025. Each recipe provides a colorful glimpse into the Gilded Age, featuring the history behind each treat, its ingredients and baking methods. Her third book, The Gilded Age Cookbook, was published by Globe Pequot in August 2023. Previously she wrote The Thousand Dollar Dinner, which tells the unique story of a nineteenth century “Top Chef”-style competition between Philadelphia restauranteur James Parkinson and the Delmonico family of New York. She is also the author of Mrs. Goodfellow: The Story of America’s Cooking School, a successful nineteenth century pastry chef who also ran an innovative cooking school for young woman – a Philadelphia first. She is currently working on a history of the City Tavern restaurant, to be published by Westholme in the summer of 2026.

Reviews

[Melissa]

I loved this book! I love to cook, and all that I could think about while reading this was that I have my electric mixer, my blender, my coffee/spice grinder, my measuring cups/spoons etc., and how incredibly difficult it was to be a cook back in early 19th century. Diamond's writing style took me right into Mrs. Goodfellow's kitchen, I could see her shelves, and hearth,windows and the tables, utensils etc...as well as the streets outside. If you enjoy cooking and love American History, you will enjoy this book.

[Carolyn]

Not much is known about Elizabeth Goodfellow but her 'revolutionary' American cooking methods are long lasting. She lived from 1768-1852 and was married and widowed 3 times from 1800-1818 and kept the name of her last husband. This likely forced her to be self-sufficient. She had a pastry shop at a busy location in Philadelphia but it is unknown where she learned her cooking skills. Living in Philadelphia, a port city, she had access to a variety of fresh ingredients. She had a reputation for making the highest quality goods which added to the reputation of her cooking school. The writings of her students contain the most information about Mrs Goodfellow and were published after her death.

Mrs Goodfellow avoided 'new fangled' ingredients such as the early precursor to baking soda. She used yeast and beaten eggs to make her products light and airy. Beating eggs was by hand was time consuming in the 18th century. Lemon and Brandy were often used to cover any "eggy taste". Brandy also reacts with gluten and other ingredients to create a subtle new taste. It was also used as a preservative to keep cakes from growing moldy. The first recipe in the book White Potato Pie consists of butter, sugar, potatoes, egg, wine, brandy, rose-water, and cinnamon or nutmeg.

Mrs. Goodfellow is credited with inventing the lemon meringue. Although it was an expensive treat due to the high cost of lemons and numerous eggs used (eggs were smaller then). Lemon pudding was a signature dish of hers. It's likely she didn't want to waste the egg whites after using the yolks for the pudding and created the topping. (Lemons bring out the flavors of other ingredients making them taste fresher and brighter such as herbs, spices, fruits, vegetables, meats and so on). There are 3 types of meringues - French, Italian & Swiss depending on the method to mix in the sugar. French meringue uses dry sugar to beat into whipped egg whites. Italian meringue uses hot sugar syrup. Swiss meringue combines egg whites and sugar at the beginning and then calls for them to be whipped over low heat.

The icebox was first patented in 1803. This allowed for larger amounts of perishable food to be purchased and less trips to the market. By 1840 student Eliza Leslie described them as "conveniences no family should be without." Sugar also became affordable. Both the availability of sugar and refrigeration likely contributed to the expansion of Mrs Goodfellow's shop. The appetite of the upper-class for putting on extravagant dinners contributed to the success of her school. Ladies could show off their skills making pastries, sweetmeats preserving fruit. Although some students went unwillingly, forced by their mothers to attend. The lessons were also useful to instruct servants one day.

The first cooking classes would have been taught over an open hearth. Heat could be adjusted with chains. An oven was built next to the open fire. She told them if they were able to hold their hand in front of the oven and count to 20 the heat was about right for puddings. In 1820 the cast iron stove was introduced. It was more efficient and was waist high (eliminated stooping).

It is unknown if there were exams or the girls were given a certificate. It is likely potential suitors waited outside. Mrs Goodfellow was also known as a matchmaker. She formed a poetry club, which also contributed to the consumption of some of her treats by the participants and simultaneously benefited her shop.

Mrs Goodfellow taught how to set a table. Crumb cloths were placed under the table to collect crumbs that fall during the meal.

Her student Eliza Leslie took copious notes of classes and published several cookbooks, with the honor of writing the most popular cookbook prior to the Civil War. Her mother ran a boarding house and she also had aspirations of becoming an author. Her cookbook was revolutionary because it contained clear instructions that those with less cooking skills could replicate. Her book was meant for all American women (both affluent and thrifty). Prior to that time cookbooks were written in paragraph form and difficult to understand and directed at specific groups. Since America was a melting pot of different cultures Eliza incorporated different recipes from the French, Indian (curry) and African Americans with an American twist.

After several publications Eliza started to include the use of 'alkali' such as baking soda, baking powder and cream of tartar, although she acknowledges Mrs. Goodfellow would not use those. Was it changing trends or pressure from the publisher to sell more books? Baking powder became available in the 1850's and was a huge time-saver. Recipes were revised to include these new ingredients. An old milk biscuit recipe states to "knead for 40 minutes."

Eliza wrote about "catchups" - salty, spicy liquids, thinner than the "ketchup" we use today. More like a soy sauce, there were versions made from walnuts, mushrooms, cucumbers, lemons, and lobster as well as grapes and tomatoes. Common features included their salty taste, concentrated consistency, and long shelf life. Although rather time-consuming to prepare, they provided interesting preserved seasonings at the ready, especially in the days before refrigeration.

Eliza's first cookbook is the first time "cup cake" was mentioned. It was more of a spice cake or muffin and did not have icing.

The author then goes on about other cooking schools after Mrs. Goodfellows in Philadelphia and New York and how they opened to women of all classes. There is a section of recipes that are attributed to Mrs. Goodfellow.

[Valerie Nelson]

Not enough is known about Mrs. Goodfellow to write an entire book, so Becky Diamond fleshed out the story with what is known about cooking schools and cookbooks from the same era (early 1800s) to our current era. I like food, cooking, and have taken classes on open hearth cooking and found Mrs. Goodfellow an interesting read. My local library didn't have this book so I got it from the Anne Arundel Public Library through the interlibrary loan network.

[Adams Loretta]

Really enjoyed this book. It’s part biography, part food history, and part cultural study, which made it unique. At times the detail about Philadelphia society slowed me down, but overall it gave me a new appreciation for how American cooking schools began.

[Gail]

Mrs. Elizabeth Goodfellow was a pastry chef in Philadelphia during the nineteenth century. She was married three times (they all died)but she kept the last name of the third husband. In addition to her baking, she taught cooking in the basement of her shop to young ladies from wealthy families. As she didn't keep a journal and didn't publish her recipes, not much information is known about her. One of her students, Eliza Leslie, made copious notes of everything that went on during the teaching and later published several cookbooks using what she had learned from Mrs. Goodfellow.
There's plenty of neat history on Philadelphia with drawings and pictures. At the end of the book are recipes that were used in Mrs. Goodfellow's Cooking School, so if you're inclined, you can attempt to make them.

[Jason Walker]

The original Betty Crocker? Not quite. But this is an interesting book about the history of cookbooks and why we have such a a love for them. I could have rated it higher but really, how interesting are those cookbooks that you own? I have at least twenty, maybe more. I look at them when I need them. I didn't need this book.

[Constance]

A good general history of the development of cookbooks and coming schools. Some interesting old recipes. A pleasant frothy read!

[Ann]

-history is interesting of 19th century Philadelphia
-padded w/ historical fiction written in juvenile style